prettyinpink

I was originally banded in May 2008. I had a very successful start and lost about 90 pounds my first year. However, I had some circumstances that required me to be totally unfilled for an extended period of time, and I have gained back 35 pounds since last November!! I feel horrible! It is so depressing to have lost the weight and then put it back on. I feel worse now than I did at my highest weight before I had the surgery. I am going back to the Dr. for my first "starting over" fill this Thursday (7/15) and I am sooo excited! I am planning on using this site for support - something I did not do when I was initially banded. I think some of the complications I had could have been avoided if I had used this wonderful site for education and support. I love my LAP-BAND® and have missed it terribly! I can't wait to start using it again!!!

A couple more things...some of the big mistakes I made were: 1.) Thinking that tighter was better and that it would get the weight off quicker 2.) Drinking during/after eating (this causes pouch enlargement and esophagus distention), 3.) Drinking carbonated beverages (my nurse practitoner now says "no pop!!"), and 4.) Not following the basic guidelines (eating meat first, then veggies, and very little carbs/starches. I would eat things that passed through easily (cheetos, cookies, mashed potatoes, etc), therefore, I didn't have the feeling of being full.

Thanks to all of you for the support! I'd love to be starting over buddies! The circumstances were: I had a slip 5 1/2 months out...from being too tight and getting some Ibuprofen caplets stuck. I vomited about 5 times in a 2 day period and that was enough to slip my band (although they told me it typically takes WEEKS of violent vomiting to slip a band..... that is not so!!! It can happen very easily - I'm the proof!) I then had a revision surgery and I did ok for a while, but around November of last year I started having acid reflux, coughing all night, having to sleep in the recliner, being able to eat too much, weight gain, etc. My Dr. ordered an upper GI and it was discovered that I was (again) too tight. This time, instead of feeling uncomfortable or feeling like vomiting after eating too much, the food was not passing through my band at all and was accumulating in my pouch and in my esophagus, causing my esophagus to stretch out to three times it's normal size. I could not figure out why I was able to eat normal sized portions and why I was gaining weight. I could not tell that the food was not going through. It felt normal the whole time, except for the terrible heartburn anytime I layed down. I kept going in for fills telling them I needed to be tighter (hence, making the problem worse). Also, I was drinking a lot of diet pop, which my Dr. allows (I know some Dr's say don't drink it, but mine always said he didn't think it mattered). The treatment for a distended esophagus is a complete unfill for several months to allow the esophagus to return to normal size. That meant even more weight gain. If I was able to control what I eat, I wouldn't have needed a LAP-BAND®, right?! LOL I went for my first fill yesterday and have already lost 2 pounds!! I just didn't know all these things could happen. I am a Registered Nurse who researched the LAP-BAND® for nearly a year prior to having it done! I considered myself to be the most likely person to succeed, with all the knowlege I thought I had. I see people on here with the exact same problems I have faced. I joined this site right after my initial surgery, but for some reason I never got on here. I think I was scared...I didn't want to hear about complications because I wasn't planning on having any! As I said before, I think a lot of my problems could have been avoided if I had learned from others ahead of time. Let's all keep in touch!

You will do great! Hang in there. Even after losing 25 pounds I felt like a new person. I ended up losing about 90 pounds the first year. My bones don't hurt anymore, I sleep better at night, I don't have high blood pressure anymore, I stopped snoring, etc. I still shop at plus size stores, but I wear the smallest size they offer, and I CAN shop at normal stores too (but I wear the largest size they have LOL!) It's definitely been the best thing I ever did. I know by some people's standards, I am still considered big, but I'm like you, I'm comfortable with my size around 200 lbs. This surgery will probably add 20 years onto your life!

Sorry, I am just now seeing this! I'm hardly ever on here. Yes, I just pay the fill fee and it is horribly expensive! I can certainly understand why people "wait it out". I was a private pay patient, so when my band slipped, I had to pay AGAIN for the repair out of my pocket! I have since changed jobs and now have insurance that will cover me if anything should further go wrong....lets hope I don't need it! Hope all is going well for you.

You are too tight. I know it sounds crazy, but please trust me. I have had my band for 2 years now and I've gone through the same thing. My band slipped 5 1/2 months after surgery from vomiting. It does not take very much vomiting to slip a band (despite what they tell you). I had only vomited about 5 times in 2 days! It becomes a viscous cycle: food that doesn't go down easy or food that gets stuck leads to vomiting, vomiting leads to swelling, swelling leads to the band getting even tighter, etc, etc, etc. Each day is different. There is no rhyme or reason to it. Somedays I can eat salad with chicken and some days I can't. You have to learn to "listen" to your band and go with whatever you can eat on that particular day. It varies! I urge you to have an unfill for a few weeks and let it "rest". It's hard to find the sweet spot when your band is new. You will get there. Don't make the same mistake I did, thinking tighter is better. I have learned over the years that it's better to be able to eat a little more and you will eventually lose more weight. Also, you maybe trying to eat too early in the day. Drink a protein shake and plenty of liquids until around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Something else to consider is when you are too tight, the food doesn't pass through the band and remains in the top pouch - not reaching the bottom of your stomach that causes you to feel full. That's why you are still hungry and you may be stretching your esophagus, thus allowing you to eat semi-normally. If you are having any reflux when you lay down, that is a definite indicator. I hope this helps! Good luck to you!:redface:

I had the same thing happen to me when I first started going to seminars, making Dr. appointments, etc. However, for my husband, the issue was financial. I was a self pay and he did not want to spend the money. Also, my weight has never been a problem for him. I have to say, he has loved me through "thick" and "thinner". He really didn't think I needed to have the surgery, but I did this for ME!!! And that is what you really need to take a look at. It's hard when your married though, because it's supposed to be a "we" thing, not an "I" thing. And if you are like me, you probably don't feel comfortable doing something without his blessing. I had my husband go with me to the seminars so he could hear for himself and ask questions. He eventually agreed to the surgery, but I still did not feel like I had his total support. My drive time to the surgery center from my hometown was 2 1/2 hours, and we fought about it the whole way to Kansas City. Talk about miserable! I really needed his support - most of all on that day. I was already scared (for nothing, I might add....looking back the surgery was pretty simple and it is safe), and the last thing I needed that day was to have to go under the knife being a nervous wreck from arguing all morning. I must to say in my husband's defense, that he is a wonderful man and usually treats me very well, but this was a real issue for him at first. Since the surgery, he has been very supportive and he now sees what a difference it has made in OUR life and OUR marriage. Before I lost weight, the whole family had to suffer because I couldn't/didn't want to /didn't feel like doing things they wanted to do (e.g.: going swimming, going on rides at an amusement park, riding a bike, hiking a trail, etc.) Now I can join in and enjoy the fun. He also sees the difference in my confidence level and my health. He now agrees it was probably the best thing I ever did!:redface: Hang in there!

Although I was banded in May of 2008, this is my first post on here. I now wish I would have visited this site more often, as it may have prevented some of the problems I have had. In November 2008 - just 7 months after my surgery, I tried to take some Ibuprophen caplets first thing in the morning (looking back, not the smartest thing to do, but my back was killing me that day and I was desperate for relief). The pills got stuck and I vomited about 4-5 times in a 2 day period. My band slipped. My surgeon informed me that this typically does not happen with an occassional illness, but usually after prolonged, violent, vomiting episodes. WRONG!!! It can happen very easily - I'm the proof. I am an RN who researched the Lap-Band® surgery and my surgeon for almost a year before making the informed decision to have the surgery. I followed the rules and did everything I was told to do. I ended up having a revision within 2 days. My band has not worked the same since. Beginning with the very first fill I had acid reflux, which I had never had before. I had lost nearly 90 pounds with my first surgery, but I have not lost any weight in over a year now. In fact, I recently started being able to eat more and was gaining back some of the weight I had lost. I went in for a fill last week and was told that I may be too tight. I thought they were nuts! I was able to eat things I shouldn't even be able to eat and was eating almost normal portions! I was informed that sometimes the band can be too tight, and it causes the esophagus to stretch - therefore, allowing you to eat more and with no discomfort or vomiting. I thought they were full of it. I knew what too tight felt like. I have had to be unfilled several times and was not able to hardly swallow water. My Dr. ordered an upper GI and to my surprise, they were 100% correct! I was too tight and even after 1 hour later, the barium had not passed through my band. My esophagus was enlarged about 3 times more than normal. I had no idea this could happen. They also found that I have a large hiatal hernia. The radiologist sent me straight to my Dr.'s office for a total unfill and I must wait a month for my esophagus to return to normal size and possibly have a hernia repair before getting another fill. I am soooo discouraged and disappointed. I feel like a total failure. I have tried and failed every diet/weight loss program there is and now I can't even make a LAP-BAND® work for me! This was my last hope of ever getting the weight off. I forgot to mention that I paid privately for my surgery - TWICE!!! I still have about 3 years to pay off! Any advice/wisdom/encouragement would be appreciated.

My band slipped 5 1/2 months after my surgery from vomiting. During the educational seminar, my surgeon told the group that it takes a lot of vomiting to slip a band and that this typically doesn't happen with just a bout of the flu, etc. WRONG! I only vomited about 4-5 times in 2 days and had a slip requiring same day emergency surgery! I also want to add that my surgeon is one of the best in the region I live in and is a proctor/trainer for Lapband - so I know it wasn't like I had an incompetent surgeon, or I didn't follow the rules, etc. It can happen very easily!